Treasure Island

If I were ten years old, I’d probably be completely obsessed with this. Treasure Island is a solid adventure — I loved it both as a book and a movie — but watching it now, it definitely feels more geared towards kids. Young Christian Bale is interesting to see, but honestly, Charlton Heston and Christopher Lee steal the show. (11/01/2021)

When Stevenson wrote his famous novel in the 19th century, he certainly did not consider it a work primarily intended for children. It was simply an adventure story for the widest audience. But as time went by, the story of bloodthirsty pirates became a little story for those who Jim Hawkins' age. Naturally, the majority of film and television adaptations adapted to this. Heston's film is one of the best attempts to portray the material, although it can be criticized for many things. I especially liked the TV version with Brian Blessed, who gave Long John Silver his captivating charisma and played his villain with great perspective. For this adaptation, the key performance is that of the 67-year-old Charlton Heston, who convincingly portrayed a 50-year-old pirate leader and visibly had no trouble keeping up with the character physically. His performance ranks just below the aforementioned Blessed. For today's children's audience, the film lacks some of the entertaining ingredients that catapulted Pirates of the Caribbean and its numerous followers into the spotlight. On the other hand, I would criticize Heston for a certain naivety, haste, and lack of conviction in the fight scenes, where the performances of Czech fencing groups in the castles and mansions are two levels more professional. It's hard to believe that this ragtag bunch was the terror of the ocean for years, sinking one Spanish ship after another, and having no problem attacking port cities. The set design is decent and so are the acting performances. Overall impression: 70%. (03/02/2021)